Your name is Kanaya Maryam, and you recently woke up on a cold slab of concrete without knowing that fact. 'Fact' was actually probably the wrong word to use; you weren't sure that it was your real name, and you had no reason to trust these eleven strangers around you who were also given odd titles, just like yours. They're eyes were clouded and filled to the brim with confusion as they sat in the small cells around you, and you knew they had all ended up here in the same way you had.
You'd woken up here only a short while ago.
The light in the unwelcoming atmosphere that surrounded you was naught but a few flickering lightbulbs on the ceiling, threatening to go out at any second. They cast eerie shadows around the dazed forms, and it unsettled you just as much as it did them; whoever they were. Whoever you were was the more alarming question, though, and you were terrified to find that you did not know the answer. Who were you? Little flickers of something in the back of your mind clawed hungrily at you, but they weren't strong enough to penetrate your memory. This bothered you immensely, and you looked around the cell for something, anything that gave even a sliver of an answer to these terrifying questions.
There was a small cot in the corner that looked filthy and uncomfortable and probably infested with all sorts of diseases. You promised you'd stay away from that; you needed stay alive and healthy at least until you got a few answers. A couple feet away from that stood an old, rusty sink that dripped a small drop of brownish liquid every few moments. It was unnerving and extremely annoying. Across from the makeshift sink was a hook of sorts that protruded from the wall, and on its end hung a couple of odd garments that you couldn't make out too well. You looked down at the outfit that you were wearing, and was not too pleased to see it was nothing but an odd, green suit. You didn't like it, and hoped to find something more presentable on the strange hanger.
Standing up was harder then you thought it would be when you realized there was a sharp pain in your neck, shooting down your spine and into your legs. You hissed quietly, and another memory threatened to stir when you heard your own voice. It was a stranger's voice, but a stranger you could trust, you could manipulate. You liked the thought of that. You smiled to yourself as you sat up, trying your best to ignore the pain, and got a better look around. You heard rustling around you, and were shocked to see other people in the room, in conditions similair to yours. The person in the cell right next to yours was wearing the same suit as you, but this one was red, like his hair. You realized in that moment that you had no idea what you looked like. Your hair was short and dark, you could tell, but not much more then that.
The young man in the red suit was sniffling and rubbing his eyes, and you hesitated to talk to him for a moment before shrugging and opening your mouth. You were the first one to break the silence, and you took it as a liberty.
"Excuse me...?" You tried to be polite, and couldn't help but smile despite how awful your mood was. Your own voice. He looked up and at you, his eyes a dark brown, wide, and scared. The boy looked young, you thought, not too much over eighteen. You didn't know how old you were, or how old you looked, but you knew right away you were taller and probably older then the stranger you were addressing. His hair was messy and dirty, and it was obvious he had been crying. He was covered in freckles and had large circles under his eyes, and didn't look very friendly.
"Wh-who are you?!" He croaked out in a raspy voice, and backed up a bit in fear. You hoped you didn't look scary, and decided that talking to strangers probably wasn't the best idea. You looked down.
"I am not quite sure myself." You mumbled, and wrapped your arms around your legs, glancing back up at the mysterious outfit. The redhead didn't reply and went back to snivelling, so you didn't try to talk to him again. Obviously he was a child. On the other side of your cell was an even smaller girl in a suit slightly lighter green then yours, and she was still fast asleep against the floor. It seemed only a couple of the group was awake, and you didn't know how many were there in the first place. Across from you was the only other cage you could really make out, and there was a tallish man in a violet suit glaring menacingly at you, but not saying a word. You gave him a sharp look back before standing up and stretching a bit, jumping in surprise as a large, metal door opened.
You couldn't see the two people that stood in the doorway too well, but they were big and muscular, obviously professionals at whatever they were doing. One of them walked over to the cell next to you and pulled out a set of keys from his or her trenchcoat pocket, fumbling with a certain few. You noticed that they all were color coded, just like the suits you were wearing. The other person watched their partner, tapping their foot impatiently. You crawled to the front of the cage, trying to get a better view, and blinked in surprise yet again as the person with the keys walked over and started unlocking your cell.
"Hello. Might I ask wh-" You tried to talk to the trenchcoat-person but they gave you an ice cold glare with blue eyes that matched their cold attitude. You couldn't be sure whether they were a boy or girl, but didn't think it was very important anyway.
"No talking, girl." The voice still left you clueless of their gender, so you just decided to call this one Trenchcoat One and the other Trenchcoat Two. That would work for now. "Grab the outfit on the hook and line up over here." You begrudgingly did as Trenchcoat One told you to, watching as they unlocked the others' cells and formed a long line of twelve people, including you. Trenchcoat Two walked to each of you seperately and handed you a small piece of paper that was folded in half. It was crumpled, dry, and obviously old, and you opened it up to find the crude pencil scribbling of two words.
"These will be your titles." Said Trenchcoat Two with a voice awfully similair to their number One counterpart's, and you could only guess that the two Trenchies were twins. "Read them out loud. All of you will get to know each other in due ti-"
"Know each other?!" Called the red-suited, young boy. You started to think he probably had a problem keeping his mouth shut. "I don't even know who I am, let alone any of these people!"
The Trenchies ignored him, and a few others mumbled in agreement. A pale, angry looking girl with long, blonde hair and blue eyes wrinkled her nose at One and Two, giving them a glare more menacing then the purple-suited man had given you. You stole a look towards him and thought he probably always had that look on his face. He looked like believed that he was superior to everyone, and you already disliked him, whoever he was. The blonde growled, clenching her fist and crumpling the little paper moe then it already was.
"He's right. Where the hell am I, who the hell am I , and why can't I remember anything?!" Her voice was stern as she took a step forward, out of the line. You noticed she was shaking slightly, and you thought that you might admire this girl.
But the Trenchies sure didn't.
Trench One didn't hesitate to slap her across her face. She recoiled and stumbled backwards, letting out a yelp. One looked at her apathetically while Two stood in the shadows with the same look on their face, crossing their arms casually.
"Don't push me, or your eye won't be the only thing you lose. You already have punishment enough on your hands." One replied with a hiss, and you didn't know what they meant. What about the blonde girl's eyes? They were beautiful, certainly a much more pleasant blue then then the Trencoats'. "Now. Go in line, starting with the red boy." One gestured to the small redhead yet again, and with reluctance he opened his paper and read it aloud.
"Karkat Vantas." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Karkat Vantas, what the fuck kind of shitty name is that?! You guys are really bad at-"
"Chill out, man." Said a tall, lanky figure that stood on almost the other side of the line. He had long, dark hair, darker then yours, and dark blue eyes that reflected the light and made them shine almost indigo. They matched his suit perfectly. His voice was deep and laid back, and you wondered how he could possibly be so calm in all of this. Sure, you were keeping your mouth shut, but you certainly weren't so... tame.
The boy- er, Karkat- closed his eyes and sighed through gritted teeth. Two nodded.
"Right then." They said. "Moving on."
"Aradia Megido." Said a girl next to Karkat in an apathetic voice, her long, dark red hair curly and essy behind her. You frowned slightly. Was it brown or red? Her suit was a dark red- pretty color- and her eyes were like chestnuts.
"Tavr-ros Ni-Nitram." The next was a darker-skinned boy with a fluffy, brown mohawk, who was trembling quite visibly. His suit was orange, and his eyes matched it quite well, making you start to wonder whether they matched up your suits to your eye color. Did that make your eye color this shade of green? It was quite lovely, you thought, and would go well with your hair. The boy was cute, and looked down as soon as he finished speaking.
"Sollux Captor." This boy was tall and with a lisp. His light brown hair was messy and sticking out, and he squinted at the paper like he could hardly see it. His eyes were two different colors, one brown and one blue. It was odd, but not unnattractive. You'd heard about people with that phenomenon; you didn't remember where, but you knew you had.
"Nepeta Leijon." The girl was smaller then almost everyone. Her voice was high-pitched. She had short, light orange hair and bright green eyes. Freckles. She might've been related to the Karkat boy.
"Kanaya Maryam." You stated simply. And just like that, you had a name. Kanaya.
"I can't..." The next girl stood staring at her paper with clouded, aqua eyes. Oddly clouded. No one with eyes that clouded could... "...See."
Trench One frowned and snatched the paper from her grip and you flinched. You could've read it.
"Terezi Pyrope. Your name's Terezi. Got that, blind girl?"
The girl flashed a big grin. "I'm Terezi, not 'blind girl'." Her hair was shoulder length and bleach blonde. She was tan, and her suit, like most of the others, matched her aqua eyes. You liked her as well as the other blonde girl that stood next to you, a hand still over her cheek from where she'd been slapped.
"...Vriska Serket." That was her name. The girl with the pretty blue eyes was Vriska.
"Equius Zahhak." The next boy was taller and muscular like the Trenchies, his skin was dark, his hair was long, his teeth were broken and his suit as blue. Not like his eyes, which shone a dark brown.
"Eridan Ampora." Stated that purple-suitted jerk.
"Feferi Peixes...!" The last girl had bright green eyes and her hair was like sand. She looked oddly happy, and you didn't trust her at all.
And that was everyone. Karkat, Aradia, Tavros, Sollux, Nepeta, Kanaya, Terezi, Vriska, Equius, Eridan, and Feferi. You still didn't know where you were, why you were here, or anything. You only knew what the people around you looked like and the false names that everyone clung to. You could all could all at least pretend the identities were something real. Everyone knew that it wasn't really true, but you could all pretend.
Now you needed answers.